Newton Day celebrates 150 years of town history

On Saturday, “Honest Abe” was making rounds about Newton shaking hands and posing for pictures. He even took a few minutes to stop and talk to the Union soldiers camped out on the Village Green.

“Seeing the reenactment of the union soldiers was really cool,” Nole Genung, of Newton, said.

The actor playing Lincoln and the union reenactors were all part of the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Town of Newton celebration. On March 10, 1864, an act to create the Town of Newton and the adjacent townships of Andover and Hampton became law, though the town’s history and settlement goes back much further.

The day-long event kicked off with the Firehouse 5k Run and Community Walk at 9 a.m. and was followed by the formal Newton Day ceremonies.

Spring Street was lined with vendors of all kinds including local political parties, the Newton Police and Fire departments, homemade jewelry, food, and local shops.

The highlight of the day for Chuck Clough, of Newton, was the town crier contest, where five competitors each stood in front of a historic building on Spring Street and gave an oral history of the building.

“They were all in period clothing,” Clough said. “It was really good. Really interesting.”

Pat Powers, of Newton, said her favorite part of the day was the classic car show held in the parking lot of the former McGuire Chevrolet dealership.

Music and entertainment also took place in front of the Newton Fire Museum. The entertainment included a reptile show and a mad scientist presentation.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame gave residents an opportunity to learn about famous New Jersey residents and natives, including Bruce Springsteen, John Bon Jovi and Whitney Houston. A map of the state with Hall of Famer’s names in each county gave a representation of where in the state they were from. None were from Sussex County.

Once all the vendor’s closed down at 4:30 p.m., all the action moved to Memory Park where kids were enjoying running around and playing with their friends while many of the parents were waiting for the Battle of the Bands and fireworks that capped off the event.

Barbara Genung, Nole’s wife, said the fact that the Newton Day celebration changes every year is what makes it special.

“It changes from year to year which is good because it keeps people coming back,” she said.